Do they make the ExPro for 5/16 x 14?
Be the first to admit i'm not a billiard scientist but all i know is i play like s^*t with a 11.75-12mm euro-taper shaft. Miss more balls(and position) than the law allows. Part of this,in all honesty, is the fact i have long thin fingers and i can't clamp down well on a small shaft. The combo of size, taper, and look just jack me up to no end. The best i played when younger was with a full 13mm, steel-joint, ivory ferruled Richard Black cue. Didn't know what deflection was back then. You just played pool.I agree a smaller shaft can mess with the visualization of applying spin in a way that may cause a player to address the cue ball further from the center than it normally looks on a thicker shaft. I think that’s an issue of alignment.
But regarding your comment on needing a laser straight stroke, I feel like any unwanted deviation in stroke will affect the cue ball in equivalent amounts of undesirable effects between a thin and thick shaft. It seems if my stick deviates 3mm then my tips point of contact moves 3mm also, no matter the size of shaft. I’d guess if anything affected that (minutely), it would be tip radius and not tip diameter.
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This doesn't compute for me. With a thinner shaft there's more visible space between centerball and the shaft for the same offset - which should cause the player to adjust more toward center, not farther away from it.I agree a smaller shaft can mess with the visualization of applying spin in a way that may cause a player to address the cue ball further from the center than it normally looks on a thicker shaft. I think that’s an issue of alignment.
Agree with this.But regarding your comment on needing a laser straight stroke, I feel like any unwanted deviation in stroke will affect the cue ball in equivalent amounts of undesirable effects between a thin and thick shaft. It seems if my stick deviates 3mm then my tips point of contact moves 3mm also, no matter the size of shaft. I’d guess if anything affected that (minutely), it would be tip radius and not tip diameter.
So I am planning on purchasing a new Schon cue in the next couple of weeks and was wondering opinions on low deflection shafts. I am looking for one that has a stiff hit. I am currently mostly considering a Mezz WX900 or OB Pro+, but I would like to hear of any that might feel better.
This doesn't compute for me. With a thinner shaft there's more visible space between centerball and the shaft for the same offset - which should cause the player to adjust more toward center, not farther away from it.
pj
chgo
It seems if my stick deviates 3mm then my tips point of contact moves 3mm also, no matter the size of shaft. I’d guess if anything affected that (minutely), it would be tip radius and not tip diameter.
Maybe I'm misreading you, but these two statements seem contradictory. As I said above, I agree with the first one:,,,based on the offset of “shaft center” from cueball center, thinner shaft means actual tip contact is further out with greater spin (assuming closer to tip edge contact) provided no adjustments are made.
Assuming their curvatures are the same, a thinner tip hits the CB in the same place as a fatter one, producing the same amount of spin.
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Think of a thinner tip as being the same as the inner part of a fatter tip - the extra outer layer on the fatter tip only hits the CB on shots with near maximum spin. Otherwise it's as if they're the same tip.
Maybe I'm misreading you, but these two statements seem contradictory. As I said above, I agree with the first one:
pj
chgo
This is the part I disagree with. As I said earlier, the difference between thinner and fatter tips (with the same curvature) is only the tiny outer layer that fatter tips have and thinner ones don't. The rest of the tips are identical - and that outer layer only comes into contact with the CB on extreme spin shots. For all other amounts of spin the contact points are identical - there's no "greater effect the further from center you are" until you get to that outer layer, i.e., at maximum spin. And even then the difference is only that the fatter tip may be able to hit slightly farther from center before miscuing.IF your approach is based on shaft center, your tip contact point MAY be further out with a thinner shaft if you don't make any other adjustments visually/mentally (see picture). The effect of this is dependent on how you visualize addressing the cue ball. And the effect is greater the further from center you are. But if you're close to center, then there's likely no difference.
This is the part I disagree with. As I said earlier, the difference between thinner and fatter tips (with the same curvature) is only the tiny outer layer that fatter tips have and thinner ones don't. The rest of the tips are identical - and that outer layer only comes into contact with the CB on extreme spin shots. For all other amounts of spin the contact points are identical - there's no "greater effect the further from center you are" until you get to that outer layer, i.e., at maximum spin. And even then the difference is only that the fatter tip may be able to hit slightly farther from center before miscuing.
pj
chgo
P.S. Your illustration shows this pretty well (except the difference is exaggerated).
Here's an illustration I did years ago about this - the tip widths and curvatures are to scale, 10mm vs. 12.75mm widths and nickel vs. dime radii. Notice that, even comparing with a tiny 10mm tip (about like a snooker tip) and a nickel curvature, the extra width doesn't come into play until right at the miscue limit.
View attachment 31381
Yeah, it's a different visual for sure, and takes some adjustment. I've been playing with my 10mm tip for about 15 years now - on the odd occasion I try to play with a fatter tip it looks like a baseball bat to me - and it's less than 1/8" wider!It’s funny. My first foray into a smaller shaft was also my switch from nickel to dime. So that may have polluted my takeaways. I remember the visualization of addressing the tip to the cue ball was very foreign with a thinner shaft. I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion but the premise is still there that you need to adapt to how different it looks visually before it’ll get comfortable and start to fit your game. Depending on the adjustments you do or don’t make, your results may not feel natural for a while.
I have the ex pro with the united joint, which is basically a much better version of a 5/16-14 joint. I use it on a Schon. One knock is they are pretty expensive, if you can find one. Last I saw was $415. The cuetec carbon fiber shaft might be a better option.Do they make the ExPro for 5/16 x 14?
If you are a good enough player to handle a 12mm shaft, I'd strongly recommend the Mezz WX900 shaft with the conical taper. I've just recently switched from a Mezz EXPro 12.5mm wavy joint shaft on my Mezz Exceed butt to a Mezz WX900 12mm wavy joint shaft and there is a huge difference in deflection - virtually almost no deflection with the WX900, even though the EXPro is advertised as a very advanced low deflection shaft. The hit/feel is extremely stiff, even with the Kamui soft tip which came on it, which I'm not a big fan of. I may switch to a Zan soft or Zan medium tip soon. I tried a Revo 12.9mm for a number of months and the Mezz WX900 deflects significantly less then the Revo, and with far better feel. If you are looking to almost entirely eliminate needing to compensate for deflection in your aiming process when loading up with spin, I highly recommend this shaft.So I am planning on purchasing a new Schon cue in the next couple of weeks and was wondering opinions on low deflection shafts. I am looking for one that has a stiff hit. I am currently mostly considering a Mezz WX900 or OB Pro+, but I would like to hear of any that might feel better.
You don't need to be "good enough" to use a 12mm shaft. It works like any other shaft.If you are a good enough player to handle a 12mm shaft...
I guess there are differing opinions on that. My theory is the smaller the shaft thickness, the harder it is to hit dead center on the cue ball and the easier it is to unintentionally hit just off dead center which applies unwanted spin / swerve / deflection, which can be the cause of misses.You don't need to be "good enough" to use a 12mm shaft. It works like any other shaft.
pj
chgo
It's a common belief, but mistaken. With an offcenter stroke you hit the same offcenter spot on the CB with any tip, no matter how large or small.My theory is the smaller the shaft thickness, the harder it is to hit dead center on the cue ball and the easier it is to unintentionally hit just off dead center which applies unwanted spin / swerve / deflection, which can be the cause of misses.
If you like the stiff hit of the shaft than first of all it depends on materials and construction used and secondly the taper of the shaft. When it comes to me I prefer solid wood shafts build out of some special old, hard and stiff maple. I've built one for myself (ferrule less 31") with carbon fiber core at the joint end and c.f. tube at the tip end. It is 12,5 mm at the tip and let's say modified taper I ended up with after turning down and trying till I was happy with the result. At the end it turned out fairly stiff bearing in mind it is 31". I've experienced only Revo 12.9 was stiffer than mine. I've heard a lot of good reviews about Mezz shafts. They have a lot to offer you but if you look for the stiffest of them than consider Hybrid Pro2 and WX900. If you don't mind the pricey c.f. shafts than as I mentioned Revo 12.9 is the stiffest I've tried.So I am planning on purchasing a new Schon cue in the next couple of weeks and was wondering opinions on low deflection shafts. I am looking for one that has a stiff hit. I am currently mostly considering a Mezz WX900 or OB Pro+, but I would like to hear of any that might feel better.